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Hello everyone,
Well I am just finishing up Vietnam and will be crossing overland to Laos in a few days. we just have to go visit Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, see some water puppetry and a few other things and that's it.
Since I last wrote, I have traveled all the way from Saigon in the South to Hanoi in the north.
The first place we stopped was a city called Na Trang which is just a beach city with not much to see but beach. Na Trang is home of "Mama Hahn" a crazy old lady who's a police informant and runs "Mama Hahn's crazy boat trip". You pay $7 and get all the sea food, fruit, wine and dope you want and pay an extra 75 cents for each beer you drink. It's just an all day party on the beautiful turquoise waters of the south China Sea.
We stopped at several different snorkeling places and it was a pretty good time. the police turn a blind eye to her giving away free ganja, but they fine her if they catch people riding on the roof!
From Na trang we went to Hoi An, which is a nice little town with plenty of silk shops and clothes to buy or have made. I had a cashmere wool suit made for 30US$. You can get silk kimonos or pajamas or dresses all for about $7-10 and they custom make them for you in less than 24 hours. You just point at what you want in a catalogue and they'll make it. No problem.
The only other thing to see in Hoi An is My Son, the former center of the Champa empire (5th - 12th century) After paying a extortionate sum, we went to My Son only to discover that the major temples were all completely destroyed by American bombs during the American war. Thanks America. Although, they did stop bombing after pleas from a French Archeologist.
From Hoi An we went to Hue, and unremarkable city, and then off to Hanoi and Ha Long Bay. Just north of Hue is the former DMZ which was heavily bombed and napalmed during the American war. Nothing left but bomb craters and unexploded ordinance. Nothing grows there either, even though 30 years has passed.
Hanoi is pretty nice with lovely gardens and lakes all over the city. It's getting too crowded and polluted though. I think a few years ago it must have been much nicer. Ha Long bay is a serious of several hundreds limestone islands than jut out of the ocean. They would be a climbing paradise! The water is a beautiful green color and it's unlike anything I have ever seen. It looks like a bunch of mountain peaks sticking out of the water. Very cool.
That was the good. Now for the bad and the ugly. Vietnam was by far the worst country I have traveled to and I would not recommend it to anyone. I’m glad to have done it because there were some things to see, but in comparison to other places there is not much to see, it's difficult and unrewarding to travel through.
The Government is the biggest pain. Getting a visa is expensive and has restrictions that no other countries put on you. You must know when and where you are going to enter and exit the country ahead of time. Often, they turn people down for no reason...this happened to a guy we met in Cambodia. Of course, they keep the visa fee. Often, people get turned back at the border for no reason also.
Once you are in the country the government keeps ripping you off by charging foreigners 5-10 times the prices Vietnamese pay. Usually this adds up to North American prices with garbagy Asian service.
We also felt that the only history that unique to Vietnam is the American War. It’s also the only information that is presented in English. Museums, Ruins, Palaces don’t have any English descriptions and English speaking guides were rare. The scenery is the same as Thailand and Cambodia. The beaches are filthy and not nearly as nice as Cambodian or Thai beaches. Overall, just not worth it. See Cambodia, and Thailand before wasting time here.
Anyway, another day, another country.
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